We decided to hold our second icoima event in October 2018.

What comes to your mind when speaking of October?
One of the most exciting things in October is of course… Halloween!!
The SEKAI HOTEL staff created a fun and cozy event for the local children in Nishikujo. ＼(^o^)／

Supporting the Local Community with icoima

icoima is the name of an event-series that SEKAI HOTEL holds for the local community once a month.
It takes place at SEKAI HOTEL ima.
SEKAI HOTEL ima is one of the facilities at SEKAI HOTEL Nishikujo.
The word ima means living room in English, so at ima, we want people to spend time together like  a family in their living room.
Our goal is for SEKAI HOTEL ima to become like a living room for local people.

We named the event icoima based on our mission.
icoima has two meanings in Japanese.
1) 行こ ima: “Let’s go to ima”
2) 憩いの間: “Ikoi no ma” which means a place for relaxation and refreshment.

Therefore, we want to create a relaxing place for locals where they go to and can feel at home.

icoima is financially supported by SOCIAL GOOD 200 (CSR), a system created by SEKAI HOTEL to give back to the community. With every stay, SEKAI HOTEL returns 200 Yen of its profit to society and the local community. Therefore, all of our guests are also contributing to this great cause.
icoima is not just a fun event, but it works as a bridge between our company and the locals.

 

Learning English through DIY: Candy Boxes Workshop

During our Halloween event, we made candy boxes together with children from Nishikujo, so they could have something to use during trick or treat.

We used flower pots and their saucers to create the candy boxes. To start the candy box DIY, the children were making a hole into the saucer with a drilling tool.
They looked  a little nervous about using a tool they hadn’t used before, but of course the SEKAI HOTEL staff were kindly helping them and were looking out for their safety, so all the children managed to safely do it.

After that, we only had to help the children glue the flower pot and the saucer to a glass and then fill it up with sweets. The design was left to the children.

Each of the children painted the flower pot that was going to turn into the candy box in their original design.
Some tried to write “Happy Halloween” or their name in English and others tried to draw spooky ghosts.

Look at these colorful, fun boxes the children made. Aren’t they cute?
These boxes are the only boxes in the whole world that are filled with the wonderful memories the children made at icoima today.
The boxes will forever remind the children of today and the wonderful experience they had.
They really did a great job!

 

Trick or Treat in Japan

The next part of our event was a little trick or treat tour. Which is why we went to different shops around the town with the children carrying their self-made candy boxes.
At first, we stopped by a shop in the neighborhood called Takoyaki Santa.

The key word the children had to use was…”Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat”. Once hearing thi, the friendly shop owner then gave the children some delicious candy. Just like in America.

The children visited a few shops around their neighborhood for the first time.
While the children do know their own town quite well, they don’t have many opportunities to go to, for example, an old cafe or bar, which is why it was a first for them.
The local children looked really happy sitting at the bar counter at New Mako and talking to the local shop owner.
Especially in today’s digitalized society, face-to-face communication like this is becoming more and more important. Such communication is what tightens communities.

 

Happy Halloween

The children made a lot of happy memories and received lots of delicious snacks in their uniquely made candy boxes. Hopefully they don’t eat everything at once.
We hope Halloween 2018 was a special day for them, as they got to try new things such as using new tools and learning English phrases. And they also got to explore their own home town some more.

We at SEKAI HOTEL would be happy if we inspired the children like a friend from the neighborhood to dream freely.
Please keep supporting our upcoming icoima events as always.